Via @karimiliya 🐢 - "Barnacle removal for a turtle that swam to us for help. Please read: I never encourage people to touch wildlife, but sometimes when an animal asks you for help, it is very hard to refuse. I have freed a bird from a net, cut fishing line off coral reefs, saved lizards, but I’ve never had a turtle persistently swimming towards me for help. It’s mouth was full of barnacles, likely making it difficult for it to eat. When I moved back it kept following me. After I removed some of the barnacles off it’s back, @ipossin got in the water and spent the next 20 minutes prying the barnacles off its mouth. Despite the discomfort of barnacle removal, the turtle kept swimming towards us until he had gotten all but one barnacle (which was stuck too tight). While these barnacles are not a result of human impact, we put so much pressure on the natural world that sometimes it is also our obligation to help when we can, without interfering in hunting and feeding behavior." #turtle #oceanconservation #ocean #saveourseas